I have been making a Crottin all summer long and everyone loves it, Thanks Yoav.All of a sudden it has lost it's taste. Now mind you I am not sure what Crottin is supposed to taste like but the cheese I was making tasted rich and full of flavor. It had a firm paste with a background flavor of Camembert, nice thin rind.I did not change anything but I did get new cultures, Geo 17 and PC. Is it possible that one or both, came from same place at the same time, could be bad?

Hi Steff!Can you describe the difference? Has the arima changed at all? How about the appearance or texture? Are you acidifying it to the same pH?It's very hard to imagine that the both Geo and PC are bad. Do you have any development of Geo/PC rind? If it developing, your PC and Geo are good.

Has there been any change with the goats? Feed? Make room or milk coagulation temperature? Draining conditions? Could you be missing salt?

I beleive all conditions are the same. Of course the milk varies from week to week but usually not this drastic. And no other fresh cheese tastes different.I do not have any aroma differences, the rind is developing the same. I think I remembered to salt. The texture is the same, I am following the same make. The inside is firm but totally lacks that deep taste. No keep in mind I have no idea what it should taste like only that it tastes different. It was tasting very much like a Camembert but with firm paste and almost concentrated flavors.

Traditional French Crottin is quite big on flavor. Earthy and tangy, citrucy and grassy. I have worked with your milk last summer and it was AMAZING for crottin. I was able to hit all those notes like no other milk from around here before.

I suspect this may be a salt problem or lack of acid. Of course if that was lack of acid, you would see something different with the coagulation (takes too long or the curd doesn't look the same, etc.).

May I suggest:Take one of the tasteless cheeses. Remove the rind and crumble it in a bowl. Salt the crumbs at about the same rate you would salt a cheese (but use fine salt so it dissolves better). Mix it thoroughly. (let is stand for an hour or so if you can and then give it another toss, assuring that salt dissolves. If you don't have time you can just try it immediately).Try it and tell me if the flavor is closer to the normal flavor you usually have. (it would not be the same, but -is it heading in the right direction?)